Saturday, October 7, 2017

Homosexuals have been hated throughout history.

30th
June 1992

Members of GAY cricket club.

Keith
Banks, Commissioner

Letter
to the Editor

The
Officer

REJECTED FOR PUBLICATION

How
interesting to find two articles in the June (1992) OFFICER dealing with
homosexuality. The subject is so rarely dealt with in Salvation Army
publications that one is tempted to say 'it never rains but it pours'! The
articles, 'A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH' by Lt. Colonel
Maxwell Ryan and 'A THEOLOGY THAT ISOLATES' by Major Ron Thomlinson are so
different in style and content, immediately stimulating thought, debate and the
desire to get to the typewriter! The articles certainly made me think.

Homosexuals
have been hated and hounded throughout history.People have
always found it difficult to cope with those of a minority sexual orientation.
That the church should have become a part of the problem is understandable when
seen in its historical and cultural context, but that it should have remained
so is unbelievable. The Salvation Army as part of the church universal is no
exception to the rule. Our Positional Statement dealing with homosexuality
takes a very definite 'hate the sin but love the sinner' approach which is
about as close as any part of the church has got to a Christ like view of the
subject; yet it must be all too obvious to anyone attempting a serious
understanding of the issues that this approach has failed lamentably.

How many
Salvationists do you know who feel loved enough to say 'I'm glad to be gay'?
The evidence seems to indicate we have been very successful in hating the sin
whilst proving woefully inadequate at loving the sinner. But
are sin and sinner the right words to use?

Our sexuality is one of God's
beautiful gifts to us. It is instrinsic to how we think, what we do and how we
do it. It is unique. Some speak as if there are only two types of sexuality:
heterosexual or homosexual. Can this be true? There are surely as many
variations in sexuality as there are people in the world. We all feel, desire
and act in a way that is unique to us.

So
by what, or on whose authority does the majority group labelled 'average'
presume to belittle, humiliate and despise the minority group labelled
'different'?

No
appeal can be made to Jesus. Anything he may have said about homosexuality
was obviously not considered important by the Gospel writers.

An
appeal can be made to Scripture as a whole, but even then the evidence is weak.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.ch.19) is frequently appealed to but it is
hard to find any condemnation of homosexuality in the story. For a start, the
suggestion that every man in the city was a homosexual is going a bit over the
top: And then it is a little odd that Lot should accuse men of wanting to do
'wicked things' when he was more than prepared to hand his two virgin daughters
over to them for gang rape (v.8). This story offers no more than a flimsy
foundation for an ethic.

The
Leviticus texts (ch.18 v.22 and ch.20 v.13) are c1ear enough, though
interestingly make no reference to women. The condemnation appears alongside such
things as child sacrifice, bestiality and incest. Can the love of one man for
another really be compared with such obvious misuse of sexuality? The text
appears to be condemning the abuse of one man by another, not the love of one
man for another. There
are, of course, the Pauline references (Romans ch.1 v.18-32 Cor.ch.6
v.9-10 : 1 Tim.ch.1 v.8-11). This is not the place to discuss context at length
but let it be sufficient to say that there are some things Paul said that
twentieth century Christians would be in no position to accept. See for example
his comments about women (1 Cor.ch.11 v.5-16); his acceptance of slavery
(Eph.ch.6 v.5 : Col.ch.3 v.22 : Titus ch.2 v.9); his conviction that no one
should challenge the authority of the state (Romans ch.13 v.1-2).

You
simply can't take Paul out of his culture; to do so is to create confusion and
pain. This has to be remembered in the light of new insights into human
sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular.

We
can only appeal to experience, and Major Thomlinson does this so powerfully in
his account of the love of one man for another. (Echoes of David and Jonathan?)
It was moving to read, and the story could be repeated countless times.

So
is it right to persist in equating homosexuality with promiscuity and perversion? In nearly 30 years of officership my wife and I have met people whose needs were for same sex relationships. Such people never
appeared promiscuous or perverted: simply different. For them such
relationships were natural. If a relationship is founded on love and sustained
by love, how can it be anything other than good. Isn't God something to do with
love?

And
is it right to persist in describing homosexuality as a sickness, suggesting
that the sufferers need to be cured? Is the implication that all heterosexuals
are fit and well? Sexual sickness there most certainly is, and it can effect
any one of us. Would we not be honouring God much more by channelling his
healing love to those who are really sick in the sexual sense rather than those
who are only different?

Is
it not time we realised that Salvationists are included in the national statistic
that suggests that 10% of the population (UK) are homosexual? This means that
if I addressed a large meeting with 5,000 people present, then it's possible
that 500 of them would be gay; and if I preached to 100 people last Sunday,
then it's possible that 10 of them were gay; and if I speak to 10 people today,
it's possible that 1 of them is gay — and this applies whether I work at Browns
Biscuit Factory or Headquarters. That's a fairly large minority.

Homosexuals
don't need to be told anymore that Christians hate what they are and that they
are loved in spite of it. They need to feel loved for who they are; they need
acceptance like everyone else and surely that should be second nature for a Christian.

They
need to feel it’s quite permissable to say, 'It's alright to be me', rather
than be told to suppress their feelings or hide their true identity.

Maybe
the time has come for an open exchange on this crucial issue. There are a lot
of people out there - many of them Salvationists and doubtless some of them
officers - who live with the issue every day of their lives. It effects them
personally. We owe it to them to work a way through the theological and
cultural clutter of the years towards a new understanding of what homosexuality
really is, asking that the Holy Spirit will lead us into truth.

By
the way, did the Editor get the wrong titles over the two articles in the June
issue? Having read and re-read them many times, it seems they should be the
other way round. On the other hand, it may show just how mixed up we really
are.

No comments:

ELEVEN YEARS OF DISCUSSION

With the advent of the internet, blog-sites and websites like that of the "Former Salvation Army Officers' Fellowship" and the now defunct "Rubicon" have provided unofficial but influ­ential opportunities for free discussion.An officially-sponsored discussion forum on the IHQ website seemed to attract limited participation AND THEN WENT SILENT...

THE RUSSIAN SA CREST 1913

Cross and Cultural sensitivity in early SA entry to Russia

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Commissioner Joe Noland

Commissioner Joe Noland

As a retired Salvation Army officer, in some ways I feel like a former officer. And as a retired Commissioner, I probably get more respect than others, but believe me there are lots of similarities between “ former” and “sent out to pasture”. I'll not bore you with the parallels, except to say that since being “pasteurized” my understanding and empathy has increased greatly.

This said to plug a blog site for former Salvation Army officers, www.fsaof.blogspot.com. I drop in periodically because the well-written posts and discussion following helps me keep everything in perspective. I would recommend the same for every not yet yet pasteurized leader because your day is coming soon considering the age at which most top leaders are appointed, but more importantly because the insight gained there will provide proper balance to your personnel related decision making during the interim.

Thank you!

A blessing every day - OWL said... Your Advent season posts by Elizabeth and Howard are a special gift that words can't describe nor can I express enough thanks. They brought a new appreciation of God's intended plan for me and all men. And thank you to you too John, our resident Pastor. There is no Salvation Army site anywhere that so completely shares the Christmas narrative. God bless you all, Former SA Missionary 25 December, 2014

The Salvation Army must not become so much of a middle-class movement that it forgets 'the rock whence it is hewn'. It is called to proclaim salvation to all classes, but its special glory should be its concern for and its ability to appeal to the lowest and most forgotten, and to be their champion in every respect.

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UPDATE! 62% of the FSAOF blog visitors rate it as their #1 site for SA content and relevance!

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Just wanted to write and say thanks for your efforts for former Salvation Army officers. Looking down the list of members on the blog I realise that there are many familiar faces and names. At the end of the day, many people are listed, who I still love and respect and who shouldn't have been put in a position where they have become former SA Officers. Anything which can harness the positive contribution they can bring and bring some care and support in what is often a very challenging decision, can only be applauded. Well done for doing this.CO UKT

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